Takeover of Ñuñuhuayco and Patahuasi

In March 1991, about 100 Shining Path PCP subversives took over the towns of Ñuñuhuayco and Patahuasi in the province of Cangallo, department of Ayacucho. During this raid, the subversives killed eight community members in Ñuñuhuayco and six community members in Patahuasi. This attack took place in the context of the final withdrawal of the PCP-SL from the rural highlands, when the subversive organization was carrying out punitive actions against communities organized in Self-Defense Committees. The action was part of the PCP-SL's strategy to maintain its presence in areas where it had lost territorial control.